Why are my white cat's ears scabbing and looking severely damaged?

Poor Kitty Bear! I would be concerned that she may have ear tip vasculitis that affects the blood flow to the tips of the ears and can result in crusts and ulcerative wounds. Squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that can affect the tips of the ears as well but it would be unusual for both ears to be affected. I would definitely recommend having your vet examine her as soon as possible to determine what might be going on. A biopsy might be recommended.

This may be sun damage, a precursor to skin cancer, a skin infection or damage due to excessive scratching. I recommend a full check up as soon as possible, in many cases removal of the ear tips and biopsy is recommended if no apparent infection is identified

Oh, that looks bad on Fred's ear. Certainly it could be a malignant tumor such as a cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. This is a cancer of the skin that occurs on unpigmented (white) parts of the body like the nose and ears. Please keep in mind that I cannot say this for certain without seeing him in person, and he definitely needs to see a vet for as soon as possible. I would take him into a vet first thing in the morning. If this is a SCC, he may need to have the area surgically removed. Please take him into a vet as soon as possible.

This is a serious problem as cats with white ears and lots of sunburns are very prone to cancer on the ears (Squamous Cell Carcinoma). The best would be to make your cat an inside only cat in summer so that she is not exposed to the sun. This includes pulling shades in the house so she cannot sunbathe and get burnt in the window either. You can try to put sun lotion on the ears with a high protection factor against UV light, however most cats will lick it off. Keeping her out of the sun is vital and the only way to keep her from being burned.

Yes, I would strongly suspect squamous cell carcinoma in an older white colored cat. The microsporum was likely an incidental finding. If this was my cat I would definitely remove the pinna and send it to a lab for histopathology. If it is SCC, the surgery should be curative. Here is a link to a good article about this problem: ( https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952685 ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The scab could be a self-inflicted wound if Yamcha has been scratching the ear excessively. It often happens with ear canal infections. It could be reaction to sun - cats can get sun burns, which most often affects ears. You can try using sunscreen on the ears to see if it is going to help ( you can buy sunscreen for cats Online). Finally, there are some diseases affecting the tip of the ear (usually auto-immune diseases) but they are very uncommon in cats.

This is actually very concerning. I suggest you get her to your vet as soon as possible. I would be very worried that this is skin cancer (like squamous cell carcinoma) because of her coloration (white), the location of the lesions and the duration of the lesions. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/skin-squamous-cell-carcinoma-in-cats